Since starting LAWL I have been having issues with preparation and planning. I thought that there may be others experiencing the same. I find that I am spending TONS of time with grocery shopping, lunches, dinners, snacks, and just plain planning my meals each day. Can everyone post how the "get through"? Tips and tricks on shortcuts? When I did WW at the beginning of the year, a friend of my DD told her that when she is putting the groceries away, she would write the points of the items in permanent marker on everything as she put it away. I appreciate all the help I can get!!

Delisa- I have a little weekly menu planner I made up in Excel that I sit down once a week and make up my menu for the following week. Off of that I make my grocery list. When I go grocery shopping I don't buy anything that isn't on my list. When I get home or the next time I have some available time, I go through and cut veggies and fruits and separate them either into the snack size baggies or smaller plastic containers in their portion sizes. Otherwise I end up throwing out a lot of wasted food. When I do get in the mood to cook, I try to make meals that can be doubled and frozen for quick meals on the go later on in the week or the month. It does take a lot of planning and prep time, but it gets easier the more you do it. I find that I stay on track better if I have a menu and foods readily available than I do if I am just winging it, like I am doing today and standing in front of the fridge trying to figure out what I want to eat.

I also buy bags of the frozen chicken breasts and will grill up the whole bag at one time, and the 1 lb. bags of shrimp I will cook up the whole thing. Off of those you can have several quick meals throughout the rest of the week.

I actually set aside about an hour on Saturdays and plan the next week's menu. Since I generally eat the same exchanges for meals (1s, 1/2P for breakfast, etc.) I usually plan a few days of the same thing. Then I put together my grocery list from my menu and go shopping on Sunday. Now the whole week is set and I pack my breakfast and lunch based on what's in my book and check off the exchanges when I eat them.

It does take a lot in the beginning, but you quickly adapt.

The other thing I do is write in the back of my diary any new food or recipe that I want to try. Then when I do the next week's menu I can incorporate it.

One thing that has been helpful for me is to look for menu ideas that are posted in the monthly menu threads. July has been a slow month for posting, but you will see things that will help you get started and keep going. Right now, the Menu thread for July is toward the bottom of page 2. You can also look back or search for earlier months. Those who post put the plan that they are on so you can zero in on those who are on the same plan as you are.
As someone who is also on gold with lites, I usually have my protein meals at lunch and dinner. For breakfast, I use my dairy up - and that is usually in the form of yogurt. Sometimes, I have my dairy for lunch and protein for breakfast, eggs or cheese. For maximizing my weight loss, I split up my starches and have one for breakfast, one for lunch. I use up my fruits so that they are finished by mid afternoon.
For dinner, I usually plan to have my protein and what is left of my vegetables.
Hope that we have been of help to you. I am sure others my chime in with their hints too.

I'm not as much of an anal planner now that I'm maintaining, but I definitley was insane on weight loss.

I cut most of the veggies on Sunday when I get them home from the supermarket. I only buy the Chiquita pre-sliced pre-packaged apples, it's less of a mess. There's always pre-cooked chicken breast strips in the freezer that can be nuked for a quick meal. As for the starches, whenever I open a box of crackers, the whole package gets portioned into the right size servings. My first 8 weeks on program was x-mas time when I was working the crazy 80 hour weeks. Turkey burgers were my friend, they were the right size to easily portion as a 1/2 or a full protein. String cheeses are my friends in terms of dairy--it's an easy one ounce of cheese to grab.

The other major tip, most of the gladware have the measurement imprinted on the bottom. For lunches, I simply fill up the appropriate size container for veggies.

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That's it--my body needs a kick in the you know what to get back into shape!